Basketball Tips – How to taste success on the court?

In each and every kind of things that we do some positives are there and negatives are there. It is not possible for us to predict what will happen in future. The only thing that we can do is we should be well prepared to meet the challenges that we face and to taste the success. But the success won’t come simply, in order to achieve it we should work hard and smart by following some tips and techniques in the place where we are implementing it. Likewise while playing the basketball too; if we want to taste the success on the court, then we should follow some tips. So in this article we will see about some of the tips about how to taste success on the court and so on.

Talk on Defense

The best defensive teams have players that continually talk on defense. There is always action on the court that requires communication between teammates. Specific terms should be developed so that players can communicate without any misunderstanding. Always communicate with teammates when playing defense, use a common language of terms or short phrases.

Pass the Ball Inside

Team success depends on scoring from inside the lane. These are often called "paint points" because the area inside the free throw lane is referred to as the paint. One way to generate points in the paint is to pass the ball inside to post players. Every point in the paint makes your opponent less aggressive and creates free throw shooting opportunities for your team.

Stop Dribble Penetration

Nothing hurts a team defense more than dribble penetration because it forces inside players to help and recover. To stop dribble penetration, a defender must maintain the proper spacing. The thing to remember when stopping dribble penetration is to contain the dribbler. Good defensive players can defend one dribble. Great defensive players can defend two dribbles.

Create Deflections

Deflections reflect defensive intensity. Whenever a defender touches the ball, there is a chance a teammate might steal it. Deflections create easy scoring opportunities and give the defense a psychological edge over the offense. Keys to creating deflections are to keep the hands and feet active, mirror the ball constantly with one hand, swarm the ball handler after the dribble is picked up and see the ball and overplay the next penetrating pass if you are defending a player off the ball.

Get to the Freethrow Line

Personal fouls play a significant role in determining the winning and losing teams in basketball. Winning teams generally shoot more free throws. They shoot more free throws because they are committed to inside play, dribble penetration, offensive rebounding and transition basketball.

Thus these tips will help you a lot to taste the success in a much easier way. Because tasting the success is not an easier one, but at the same time it is not impossible too.

Basketball Tips – Be mentally strong

While playing any games or doing any kind of work we have to be mentally strong as well as physically strong. Otherwise it is not possible to finish that thing successfully and on a high note. Especially in playing real games all the players in the team should be mentally prepared to face any challenges from the opponent team. During the progress of the game we may face some critical situations, so by that time we should be well prepared to come out of it. In this article we will how the players can get mentally stronger to play the game in a perfect way? Here I will list out some of the tips to be followed by the players to make themselves mentally stronger and fitter.

Believe

Always believe in yourself. If you think you can`t do it, you aren`t going to. When shooting, believe it’s going in and it will have a better a chance.

Nervousness

The main reason that players don´t perform well in games is nervousness and the main cause of nervousness is lack of self confidence. You have to believe that you can play with the people on the court and not get intimidated. Have a good attitude. Believe in yourself.

Confidence in Shooting

A shooter needs to have confidence. One good way to give yourself confidence is to remember that two balls will fit through the hoop at a time. This gives you a large margin of error to work with.

Proper Preparation

Pay attention to how you prepare for each game, especially when you play well. Follow the same pre-game routines, think about the same type of things, relax but focus on the game at hand. Most importantly, learn to visualize what you are going to do in the game, always seeing yourself being successful.

Mental Imagery

This is almost as important as practicing the action itself. The brain patterns during mental rehearsal of an action are the same as those when preparing for the action before the motor skill is selected, so the more you mentally rehearse a shot, the quicker and easier it will be to prepare to carry out the shot.

Advice

Please don´t shout advice to your player during the game. Shout encouragement? You bet. A steady stream of technique suggestions might have no value. Your insightful tips may conflict with the coach´s instruction.

Support the Coach

Please don´t talk bad about the coach at any place and at any cost. The worst thing is taking shots at the coach, criticizing decisions, and complaining about his leadership. Support the coach and stand behind his decisions. Instead of complaining about coach, take his points, understand it and implement it in the ground. Then surely you will get the benefits for it.

So irrespective of having very good match results, records, physically strong and so on. We should be mentally strong enough to face the future challenges in the match, otherwise no use of all these positives that we have. Self Confidence is far most important than anything else to achieve our goal. So before entering into anything try to be mentally strong, then you see the difference!!!

Basketball Tips – Better Ball Passing

While playing each and every kind of team games, there should more cooperation among all the players. Then only it will be possible to get better results. Likewise in the basketball game there should be balanced passing among all the players in their corresponding positions. So if the ball passing is good means, then the goal of shooting the ball would be much easier for other players. For this the cooperation from each and every player is needed. At the same time ball passing itself is not enough, then after that better shootout is needed to finish it successfully. Now in this article we will see about some of the cool ball passing tips and techniques.

Making the Short Side Pass

In order to make the short side pass, have two players face each other. They should be three to five feet apart. Begin with your left foot as the pivot foot. Position your arms to the right side, keeping your elbows straight. Bend your legs slightly, keeping your back almost straight. This position can be more challenging from the opposite side, the left side for right handers or the right side for left handers.

Making the Overhead Pass

To make the overhead pass, begin by having two players face each other. They should be approximately three to five feet away from each other. Start with the ball overhead and your elbows straight. Only your fingertips should be touching the ball as your hands are curved around the ball. Bend your wrists back as far as possible. As a fake, flick your wrists without passing the ball. Now pass the ball by flicking the wrists without using the arms. As the players continue to do this drill, they should change pivot feet.

Passing the Ball and Making a Pivot

For the drill on passing the ball and making a pivot, begin by having two players face each other three to five yards apart. Start with the ball overhead. Keep your elbows straight and the wrists bent back as far as you can.. Start out with the left foot as the pivot foot. The passer passes the ball with the flicking motion over his head. The receiver catches the ball using their left foot as their pivot foot. The receiver pivots around once with the ball overhead before passing. After each catch and pass, alternate your pivot foot. Move from the overhead pass, to the side pass and finally to the bounce pass.

Making the Bounce Pass

To make the bounce pass, begin by having two players face each other. They should be three to five feet apart. The elbows should stay straight with the knees slightly bent so that the ball can be released closer to the floor. Flick with your wrists making sure that the ball bounces two thirds of the way to the receiver of the ball.

Fake a pass - throw a pass

When you are prepared to pass the ball while being pressured by a defender, pass fake (which is a fake throwing the ball in one direction) then pass the ball other way. Fake a bounce pass and throw overhead. This will usually make the defender go for the first pass and clear some lane for a pass in the opposite direction.

Chest Pass

The chest pass should go from your chest to receiver´s chest you should step into the pass with your knees bent and follow through, with the ball coming off of your fingertips and your thumbs down. This creates good backspin and makes the pass easier to catch.

So follow all these tips and lot more than this, practice it for some time. Then surely it will help you all a lot while playing the actual game. The reason is passing is that much important in the basketball game. Try it and improve you game.

Basketball Tips – How to have a better shoot?

If the audience wants to see a good basketball game means, then the game should have balanced fight from both the sides. In order to have a better fight in the basket ball game, each team should follow some techniques to shoot nice shots at the basket. But shooting is not that much easy one, at the same time if we follow some tips it is not that much tough. So in this article we will see some shooting tips and based on it how we can score more points?

Proper Body Position and Setting of the Ball

When players receive the ball they should start in the position known as the Triple Threat Position. This position is called the Triple Threat Position because out of this position, you can shoot, pass, or dribble the basketball. In this position, your legs should be slightly bent. Your dominant leg should be slightly in front of you. Your back leg should be about 3 to 6 inches behind your front leg. Your hands should be chest high and ready to receive the ball. Your body should feel relaxed and balanced. As you receive the ball, you want your stance to be open with your shoulders and feet turned facing the basket. When you combine this stance with the Triple Threat Position, it will allow you to make your shot more of a one handed motion and make it more natural for you to reach forward as you shoot.

Learning to Shoot With a Higher Arch

Here we will see about the mail key to learn how to shoot with a higher arch? It is to use your legs and not your arms to add height to the ball, as you flick your wrists. Flick the ball two to five feet high. The player can catch the ball with two hands as it comes down. After you practice this for two minutes, shoot the ball four to 10 feet straight up using the wrists and legs.

Proper Ball Flight Control

While shooting the balls we need to have a better flight control, in order to keep the ball on the right track. You want to hold the release an extra half second to a second to increase your accuracy and provide a little more power to the shot. An automatic and predictable release and follow through makes all shots easier and gives you more control of your shot.

Shooting Range

Shooting range is the one which determining factors such as whether a shot is a good one or not is. A good way to determine your shooting range is to take ten jump shots from the foul line. After completing this, run two or three hard wind sprints. Then move your jump shooting back a foot or two. Continue shooting and running until you feel yourself struggling to shoot the ball. At this point, you are outside your range. This is a good way to determine your range because during a game, you have to shoot while tired. So this will help us to have a better shoot at the basket.

Shooting Pocket

To solve the problem of arm position on your shot, learn where your shooting pocket is. Let your shooting arm hang down at your side and swing it back and forth and several times. Swing it up toward your shoulder and hold it when it stops. This position is your shooting pocket and is the position that the ball should be in when you begin your jump shot.

I hope that these tips will help you all a lot to have a better shoot at the basket and at the same time to help in predicting the better shots. Try it out and make use of it..

Lakers Stop Celtics

Welcome to the new basketball news. In the Christmas day, finally, the Celtic's winning streak ended. In the last NBA basketball games, it is LA Lakers who beat Celtic's 92-83 in the Staples Center, Los Angeles. However, Lakers win is not that easy. Until the last 4 minutes, Celtic lead lakers by 81-79. But, superb play from Lakers players has able to ended Celtic's 19 winning streaks with scoring 13-2 in the last 4 minutes.

Kobe Bryant plays superb with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists while Pau Gasol added 20 points for Lakers. Kobe Bryant hope he will be able to continue this success to make revans for the last NBA finals when Celtics beat Lakers 4-2.

The LA Lakers win yesterday also become the victory number 1000 from the legendary coach, Phil Jackson. Now, the 63 years old coach has able to score 1000-423. He is the fastest coach to get 1000 wins. The old fastest coach is Pat Riley who reach 1000-434. Doc Rivers, the Celtics coach, stated that Phil Jackson is amazing and can be said as the best coach in the whole history.

Defense - Press or Not?

Sometimes players confuse whether they have to press or have a space with their opponent when doing defense. However, this basketball tips will make you know more about basketball defense. Well, the answer is NO ANSWER. It just about when and where. The coach philosophy also decide whether you need to press or not in the basketball defense.

Well, the only basketball tips for the basketball defense is about the timing and player you have to defend on. Let says you need to mark shooter, the key is press him anywhere. Never let him get some space to do some shoot. Marking a shooter need great stamina and intention. Always mark and press anytime.

However, when you need to mark player with a good dribble but mediocre shooter. You should have some distances. Give one hand distance to the player like this. If you press him too close, he will past you with the dribble. In short, this basketball tips teach you to read the timing of the basketball defense.

How to do Better Jump Shoot

Basketball is a game of mistake. The player's job is how to minimize that mistake. Even for an easy job like a jump shoot. Miss a shoot is not a big thing. But if you often miss your shoot, it is definitely you will sit in the bench. Then, how to do better jump shoot to increase your shoot percentage? Below are basketball tips to do better jump shoot.

1. Balance.
Try to train your body balance. The biggest percentage of miss shoot is because your body is not balance enough to shoot. Losing a balance is vital reason why most players are missing their shoot. Try to launch shoot when you have enough balance to do that or you will find out that your shoot is missing.

2. Eye.
Keep focus is the main reason why most of the best shooters are really great on their shoot. Watching the rim with carefully and full concentration will increase your shoot percentage. Your eye is vital. When the defender is able to block your eye, it means you will miss your shoot.

3. Elbow.
Elbow position is one of the most important basketball tips. Make sure that your elbow is straight away with the rim. If you miss your elbow posision, there is no hope that you shoot will give you a point.

4. Follow Through.
Train your follow through by train your shoot with correct method every day. Good follow through also one of the most important basketball tips to ensure you can increase your shoot percentage.

LeBron James is not Alone

Previous year, the biggest future star of NBA, LeBron James always forced to play more than 40 minutes. It is because Cleveland Cavaliers always depends on James. No doubt, LeBron James is the biggest star in the Cavaliers. He is the biggest assets in the nowadays NBA basketball. He brings cavaliers go to the top level by himself. It comes to the one question, is that true?

The answer is NO! Yes, it is big no for that question. Basketball is a team game. You will never win without team play. Yes, LeBron is the main key. But, he cannot play by himself. Let say Zidrunas Iglauskas who leads rebounds percentage on the Cavaliers. This year, Cavaliers get Mo Williams, who able to control Cavaliers gameplan.

Do you know Cavaliers record now? It is 24-4. The second highest in the NBA after Boston Celtics. Lead by LeBron James, added with Zidrunas Iglauskas and Mo Williams, Cavaliers are definitely become Celtic's main competitor.

In short, LeBron James is not alone. Cavaliers will be great for the NBA basketball.

Celtic is Flying

Boston Celtic with the big three, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen once again prove that they are the best in the NBA. After beat Philadelphia 76ers by 110-91, now Celtic is winning 19 in a row. It is their best record ever in the NBA, beat the previous record created by Larry Bird and Kevin Mc.Hale.

However, Celtic will face their biggest rival, LA Lakers at the Christmas day. It is the big challenge for them. The longest winning streak in the NBA still in the LA Lakers hand when they able to make 33 win in a row at 1971 and followed by last season superb performance by Houston Rockets who able to get 22 winning streak.

The Celtic captain, Paul Pierce said that the winning streak is nothing. The 19 winning streak is sweet, but he ever get 19 losing streak before Garnett and Allen come to the city. He remind the team to keep focus and get a win againts Lakers. In the other side, Kevin Garnett also stated that 19 winning streak is nothing if Celtic failed to win the NBA championship.

Well, let see Celtic this year. Are they able to beat Jordan's record of 72-10 winning record in NBA? What a season by Celtic!

How To Kick Butt At Basketball Camp and Get A Sports Scholarship!

Do you know Why It so Important To Kick Butt at Basketball Camp? Yes, it is FUN. That is one reason. But a more important reason is it gives you a GREAT chance to get your foot in the door of a college basketball scholarship.

So, you may be asking, Why would doing well at basketball camp make that much of a difference? Simple! Because the most important step in getting recruited to play college basketball is getting coaches to NOTICE You. Kicking Butt at Basketball Camp can get you noticed FAST.

Getting a basketball scholarship takes many steps. However, if nobody knows about you, no matter how good you are, …you won’t get recruited.

College coaches are always looking for good athletes who can better their teams. If you are a high school player who is wanting a college scholarship, the Basketball Camp is the perfect place for both the coach and the player to get to know each other.

It is the job of the player to WOW the coaches. The coaches need to know who and where the good players are and all about them before they can recruit them for their teams.

How do they find the best players for their teams? They usually don’t do it by just surfing the net. The may find out some information on the Internet. But, they get most of their player info from other coaches and recruiters they have learned to trust.

Coaches may play against each other, but listen up… They are still friends with each other as well. They know other coaches on every level. And, they are all looking for great new players.

Coaches usually move around quite a bit, and they form many friendships with other basketball coaches wherever they go. Coaches value the friendships they have with other basketball coaches.

They are just like the rest of us; they love to be the first one to pass on good info. They talk among themselves all the time about the game of basketball and how and where they can find super new recruits. Coaches trust the opinion of a fellow coach who is also a friend rather than the word of a stranger.

The big time coaches use recruiters and scouts. They also talk with booster club members and sports big shots. In other words, they will listen to the people they already know and trust.

News of a “hot” basketball player travels fast. Today, with a click of a mouse or a phone call, a coach two thousand miles away can learn of a new up-and-coming athlete. This is really how word gets around in the world of college basketball. News of a high school star point guard could travel around the country in a matter of minutes.

What can a high school basketball player do who wants to play college basketball do to get this important attention from coaches? Easy, strut your stuff where the coach can see you or hear about you. Be a basketball camp STAND OUT!!! The camps are super places for coaches on every level to find new good players. They will be keeping their eyes open for any player who could become a basketball star.

Make the coaches think about what they could do with you if they could have you on their teams. Make them think, hey, with just a little coaching from me; this kid could be a raving sensation when he gets to college. They will be drooling over you. Believe me, if you do Kick Butt At Basketball Camp, the coaches will keep you in mind for their teams.

So, it is very important for anyone who wants a college basketball scholarship to attend as many of the camps as possible.

Just one super day or hour or even just one great play that is seen by just one coach or even a friend of a coach could lead to a full-ride college basketball scholarship. If you can jump out of the gym, believe me, the coaching world will hear about you.

Making A Basketball Pass - 17 Tips For Success!

Undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of basketball is passing. In order for a team to move the ball effectively they must be efficient at basketball passing.

Passing is used in almost every part of the game. Let's think about it for a minute. The offensive team uses the pass to advance the ball down-court on the fast break. They also use the pass to move the basketball around in their half-court offense. Various passes are used depending on where and who the ball is being thrown to.

Rebounders use various basketball passes to throw to an outlet player - which is the initial step of initiating the fast-break. Offensive players must use a variety of passes when executing an inbound pass.

It's easy to see how important the pass is to the offensive players on the court. Every player must be able to pass the basketball effectively and efficiently in order to help their team succeed. In order to do this, they must have strong fundamentals and techniques. They must also practice a basketball drills that work on a variety of passes as well as passing situations.

As players practice their basketball passing and as they use the basketball pass during their games, there are certain tips they must be aware of and keep in mind. These are the passing dos and don'ts. Every player must realize the importance these dos and don'ts have on their effectiveness as a passer. The players that are able to implement or eliminate these tips will become extremely successful at basketball passing!

The Dos Of The Basketball Pass:

1. Do make the easy pass.

2. Do hit the open player.

3. Do use fakes before making the pass.

4. Do use an air pass on the fast break - not the bounce pass.

5. Do use the dribble to create better passing lanes.

6. Do pass to the low post from below the foul line.

7. Do use a bounce pass to feed the post.

8. Do follow through on every pass - don't let them float.

9. Do pass with two hands. One handed passes are harder to receive.

10. Do pass away from the defender.

11. Do face the basketball to improve your vision of the court.

The Don'ts Of The Basketball Pass:

1. Don't throw to a teammate’s voice.

2. Don't jump in the air to make a pass.

3. Don't pass to a teammate who is in trouble.

4. Don't make a pass to a teammate that will get them into trouble.

5. Don't make a pass from the middle of the court - pick a side and then pass.

6. Don't overpass the ball.

Jason Williams retired

The Los Angeles Clippers confirm this shred of a report from Lisa Dillman on the L.A. Times website.

According to the Clippers, point guard Jason Williams has decided to stop playing basketball. There is no known reason for his decision, and messages left with his agents have not been returned.

Williams signed as a free agent with L.A. just in August, and evidently decided at some point since then few weeks that he has had enough.

There had been talk this off-season that he might play overseas.

Williams, who played high school sports with NFL star Randy Moss, entered the league in 1998 as one of the most exciting players of his generation. His work as the ringleader of Rick Adelman's thrilling Sacramento Kings teams is the stuff of YouTube legend.

I remember once clearly seeing him hold the ball behind his back, at a full run, as he popped it with his opposite elbow to a streaking teammate. Even though I saw it, I wasn't sure it had really happened.

Under old-school Coach Hubie Brown in Memphis, Williams learned to be less flashy, which may or may not have contributed to his winning a championship ring with the Miami Heat in 2006.

In more recent years, Williams' star has faded somewhat as he has dealt with various injuries. At 33, however, a decade into his career, I don't think anybody suspected he may be ready to leave basketball, so needless to say this comes as a shock.

Knicks To Waive Stephon Marbury

Any NBA teams looking for a veteran point guard?

If so, Stephon Marbury is your man.

Newsday is reporting that the New York Knicks are planning to waive the point guard by the end of the week:

Several persons with knowledge of the situation have indicated that the Knicks are planning to part ways with Marbury by the end of the week. One caveat is the approval of Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, who must sign off on yet another multimillion-dollar payoff for his NBA team. Marbury is in the final year of his contract, which is to pay him $21.9 million.

It’s going to be another long season.

It sounds crazy when your team waived one of the most gifted point guard in the NBA, Stephon Marbury. Without Stephon, could knicks survive?

Enjoy Chris Duhon and Anthony Roberson in your backcourt, Knicks fans.

Height in Basketball

Basketball news is one of the most popular sports news in the world. Many professional, as well as unprofessional teams are trying to raise young sportsmen, eager to play basketball. This game has its own very high demands: it is important to stay in good physical shape, devote your time to daily practices. Basketball, unlike other sport games, demands tall players. Naturally, this demand has its own reason – it is easier to access the hoop, if you are tall, and it is also easier to hit the target. We must ask ourselves, whether the player’s height plays a crucial role in the game.

There are many people, whose height is not above average, but they nevertheless want to play basketball. They read articles about basketball, watch basketball tv, read the sports section and pay special attention to basketball games. They never miss a single basketball game on TV and discuss the results of every game with friends. What chance do they have to play serious basketball?

As a matter of fact, basketball needs technique not less, but even more, than height. A good basketball player needs, first and foremost, a good technique, which includes an ability to think and decide upon the right moves, good eye-hand coordination and swiftness. A good player should know how to move, run and through the ball, but he doesn’t need to be the tallest, in order to succeed.

The smallest player in the history of basketball was an American player Tyrone Muggsy Bogues. Even though his height was only 5.3 feet, Tyrone became a professional basketball point guard in NBA. He left professional sport after playing for five teams during his fourteen’ season career. Tyrone has proved that it is possible to succeed in basketball, even if you are not as tall as other players of the team.

Even though height is important in basketball, it doesn’t serve as a most important criterion. The most important of all criterions is a good technique. The most important thing about basketball, as in any other game, is playing and winning; it is important for the player to remember, that good technique brings success.

Basketball Offense: 10 Bad Habits To Avoid!

In order for basketball players to be successful on the offensive end of the court they must develop good habits. At the same time, they should avoid or eliminate bad habits. As simple as this sounds, players have a tendency to continually repeat their bad habits on the basketball court.

Bad habits are developed the same way good habits are - through repetition. The key then, for coaches, players, and even parents, is to practice the good habits and eliminate the bad habits. This occurs during in-season and out-of-season practices and work-outs.

By avoiding the ten bad habits listed below, players and teams will be much more successful on the offensive end of the court.

1. Focusing too much on the one-on-one aspect of offense, rather than the team aspect. Players that are more concerned with their individual game hurt the overall success of their team.

2. Standing around and watching the action, rather than being a part of the action. Players should not be spectators of the game. They must always be involved and moving, even when they don't have the basketball.

3. Looking to shoot before looking to pass. Players must always be aware of their teammates and the defensive players on the court. If a teammate is open and has a better scoring opportunity, then the pass must be made to them.

4. Looking for only one option on a set play. This makes the defenders' job much easier. Players must always look for various scoring options on their set plays. If the first option that opens up leads to a good scoring opportunity, then the pass should be made. Otherwise, the players should look for other options.

5. Telegraphing their pass to a teammate. These passes are easier for the defensive players to read and possibly steal. Players should use eye, head and ball fakes before passing the basketball.

6. Committing a cheap and foolish foul after making a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes in basketball. When it happens on the offensive end of the court, players should hustle back and play good, strong defense to make up for it. They should avoid committing fouls out of frustration.

7. Using fakes and moves that their teammates are not ready for or familiar with. Players must play within themselves on the court. New moves and fakes can be worked on during practice - not the game.

8. Being unaware of how much time is left on the game clock or shot clock. Players must always know how much time is left on the shot clock during each possession. They must also be aware of how much time remains at the end of each quarter, the half, and the game. This is every player’s responsibility, not just the point guard's and coach's.

9. Losing their concentration during an offensive possession. Players MUST ALWAYS stay focused and concentrate when their team has the basketball. They should know what their responsibility is at all times and also follow the action of their teammates.

10. Not playing at game speed. Players should always cut and move at game speed - which is also how they should practice their offensive plays. Failing to do this disrupts the timing of their teammates and the overall flow of the offense.

Team USA crushes Germany with no mercy

In the last basketball preliminary round between the dream team, team USA against Germany, ended with easy win for the dream team side. Team USA breaks their own record by crushes the Germany with the 106-59 in the last score line. They dominate from the tip off until the last buzzer. Team USA does not give Germany any chances since they always press the Germany, specially the Germany star, Dirk Nowitzky.
Less than seven minutes into the first quarter, the USA had taken a 20-3 lead, which only continued to grow with each quarter. The USA improved a 19-point advantage at the end of the first quarter to a 24-point lead at halftime, a 37-point lead after three periods and was up by 49 points as the final buzzer sounded
Like the last game against Spain, all of the team USA members score for the easy win at the wukezong arena, Beijing. Led by the slam dunk contest winner, Dwight Howard by 22 points and the 18 points from the LeBron James, team USA show no mercy to the Germany side. Kobe Bryant also scores 13 points when Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade scores 10 points.

The advantages of using press defense in basketball

The press defense system is commonly used in the high school varsity level. It can be defined as defense that extends the defense into the opponent’s back court. Before decide to use press defense, the coach need to think about team quickness, the stamina from the players, and the bench order. There are a lot of press defense systems in basketball. From man to man to zone press defense has their own advantage. It is depending on the player’s defense level and the tempo of the game.

Generally, a good press defense can produce back court turnovers, steals, and lead some easy baskets for the team. The fast break offense after a good press defense can be a superb offensive weapon. The press defense system can increase the tempo of the game. It will give some extra troubles for the opponent big man. The opponent will lose their tempo and they may do some silly and simple mistakes. The track racing basketball game will make the opponent with a good big man become confuse since they cannot maximize their big man. Implementing a good press defense will frustrate the opponent offense so that the team can get many easy baskets and control the game.

Doing press defense in basketball needs a well conditioned player with a deep bench. When the team has more quality bench player, the press defense system can be used all night long. With the press defense system, the team gets more chance to dictate the tempo, controlling the game, and winning the game easily. Rick Pitino, the legendary coach from Kentucky, has able to prove that using press defense can help to win the game. Rick and his team, Kentucky, won many games and the national title with using superb and well organized full court match up press system, one of the most famous press defense systems.

Type of Offense

There are only two types of offense: free-lance and controlled. In a free-lance offense, players make their own patterns, depending upon the defensive deployment and the ability of the opponents.


Free-lance is not as free, or uncontrolled, as the name implies. All two-on-two and three-on-three plays should always be part of your drills. Controlled offense is a set patterned offense. Both types must fall into one of the following classification, based on the position of the offensive players in relation to the basket and the defensive players guarding them:


Five Offensive Players Outside –
Four Offensive Players Outside and One Inside –
Three Offensive Players Outside and Two Inside –
Two Offensive Players Outside and Three Inside –
One Offensive Player Outside and Four Inside –


Offenses that begin from this structure are a 3-2 (wide) and a five-man weave. Normally this is a four-man weave system or a single type of offense in which the corner men are approximately 18 or 19 feet from the basket. Three offenses start from this structure:


A double-post places the two larger men in closer to the basket than the other three. The 3-2 offense may have three front men moving while the two inside men are stationary in close to the basket.
A 1-3-1 offense uses a tandem pivot, one high and one low.
An overload offense overloads one side of the court, passing the ball to the side that has only one player and having a teammate who was away from the ball cut off a post man toward the ball.


This is a standard 2-3 offense in which the forwards are within eighteen feet of the basket. This offense has four players close to the basket such as a stack offense which usually forces a zone to play you man-to-man.

Team USA beat the Spain in the Olympic

In the 4th preliminary Olympic game, team USA faces the FIBA world champions, Spain. The dream team plays superbly since they feel if they can beat Spain, they will win the Olympic easily. Since the tip-off, team USA always presses the Spain and plays the best they can. In the end of game, team USA beat Spain by superb 119-82.

Team USA beat Spain that easy because of hot shooting from behind the arc. Not like the awful first game from behind the arch against China, team USA is on fire against the Spain. The dream team beat Spain by 12 3 points shoot. No wonder all of the team USA members scored for their team. There are also 8 players who score double digit for the easy win from team USA.

LeBron James able to scores the highest 18 points when Dwyane Wade continue his superb performance in the Olympic by 16 points. The Denver Nuggets forward, Carmelo Anthony added 16 points. The backup point guard from team USA, Chris Paul and Deron Williams also very productive with score 14 and 11 points. Kobe Bryant also scores 11 points when Dwight Howard and Tayshaun Prince scores 11 points.

Team USA will face Germany in the last game of preliminary round. No matter what result from the last game, the dream team will be the 1st seed from the pool A in the quarter final. Team USA has proven himself by beat the world champions, Spain. They are now claims to win the Olympic basketball gold medal.

Sweet revenge by team USA

In the past FIBA world championship, team USA that predicted to be the easy winner had surprisingly defeated by superb three points shoot and defensive team by Greece. However, in the Olympic basketball game in Beijing, China, team USA pay their game. They keep their chances by beat Greece in the sweet revenge by 92-69.

Since tip-off, the Team USA members do not want to reduce their pressure into Greece. They do not want to lose against the Hyena army again. Team USA has able to play with full concentration until the end of game. If in the FIBA world championship Greece can bombard Team USA behind the arc, it is not happen again in the last Beijing Olympic game. Greece only scores a poor 22% of three points shoot.

In the other side, Team USA has able to break Greece’s defense. With a superb 18 points from the NBA MVP, Kobe Bryant and also the Toronto Raptors power forward, Chris Bosh, Team USA easily scored 92 points. The star from previous 2 games, Dwyane Wade also scored 17 points while LeBron James scores 13 points.

The win against Greece was make Team USA qualified to the quarter final. They also get a good confident before face the world champions, Spain. But, the main benefit from this win is that Team USA has success to the sweet revenge.